Saturday, March 29, 2008

These two cute little fellas are chihuahuas that were dog pound saved. I happened to work with the sister of the owner of these two little adorable pups. Her brother was having some medical problems that could not be resolved in a short period of time and knew he had to give away these fellas. He was nervous about making sure that these little guys went to a good home, so we offered to take these two and invited him, his sis, and mother to come over and make sure so that their minds were eased.

Initially, they wanted to give away the "son", (the tan/black dog in the pic) and wanted to keep the father, "Pancho".

Circumstances dictated otherwise and they asked if we could take both.

Now, you need to realize that we already had one dog...an older Lhasa Apso/Terrier mix that was older and fading in health. We weren't sure how long he would last, but knew that time was short.

After speaking with my husband about this, we decided that we would be willing to take on the addtional two chihuahuas.

We renamed the puppy to "Rocko", from the Nickolodeon cartoon, believe it or not. He actually fits his name very well though.

These two have captured our hearts in many ways, although it has been a struggle at first. I will discuss some of the struggles in future blogs, just like I said would discuss my Alaskan adventures and other travels. I haven't yet finished any of those yet. If you are new to this blog, you have a lot in store for you. Travels to different countries, dog "whispering" experiences, soaping scenarios, writing novel bloopers, and other crazed adventures :) (All I can do is smile.................)

Thursday, March 27, 2008

For those of you who read my blog and make a comment, I have some special for you! From March 27th through March 31st, I have a BOGO on my etsy site at http://www.jabon.etsy.com

Buy one item and receive the second item of equal or lesser value for free.

This also includes free shipping through March 31st.

To receive this offer, go to my site and when you purchase your items, please message me there on etsy that you saw this on my blog and made a comment. I will adjust the price accordingly when I see that through Paypal.

Yes, I am shamelessly promoting my site.

Yes, I have really great soaps.

Yes, I want the world to know that.

Yes, yes, yes.....yes!!!!

Whew! I feel better now.

By the way, today I made some really fun soaps that I hope you will also enjoy. They are Floating Flower Power Soaps. They float in the water, great lather, good for your skin, look like little retro "flower power" flowers from the 60s, complete with the swirled psychedelic rainbow of colors. Fragranced with "Peachy Summer" which is a peach top note, followed by fresh notes of cucumber, melon and background with a tad of spice.

The drawback is that they won't be ready until May.

However, coming up in April, I have another floating soap that will knock your socks off. Fragranced in Lilac, these multi-toned purple/lavender soaps are rather odd looking characters. Simply called "Lilac Floats", these are lovely little mounds of floating soap pumped out like a cake decoration. Approximately 3 inches in diameter and 1 1/2 - 2 inches high at its peak, they are fun for kids and adults a like.

Just an idea of what is up and coming in my shop.

Oh, pictured above is another soap called Strawberry Lemon. It is a Melt and Pour method soap that combines Shea Butter soap with Clear soap, then Lemon scented grated soap curls are decorated on top. Fun to make, fun to give away for gifts, and lovely to decorate in your bathroom. It is one of my teeagers favorite soaps.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

When I first started making this soap, I had visions of a beautiful swirled in color and fragrance soap...the epitome of elegance and beauty.

Look at the above picture....this is the end result of my gorgeous soap.

OK, so it isn't the epitome of elegance and beauty. Something happened that I didn't quite calculate into the formula. One of the fragrance oils I used caused my soap to turn colors. The fragrance oil cancelled out all the gorgeous colored oxides I put into it. It was SUPPOSED to be a swirled 2 tone pink with white, but this is what I got.

But the ugliness hides some beautiful facts about this soap. It is fantastic when it comes to lathering up, it is good for your skin and doesn't cause your skin to dry out or itch after using it. And the fragrance...is to die for! But don't die yet before you try it.

I used fragrance oils that combine oatmeal, milk, honey and roses. It is mainly rose with that underlying homey oatmeal-honey-milk fragrance present.

It reminds me of sitting in a huge tube floating with rose petals, surrounded by candles and.....wait a minute....Grandma is cooking oatmeal downstairs?

NO NO NO...that's not it at all!

Try this again.

It reminds me of sitting in a huge tube floating with rose petals, surrounded by candles and soothing oatmeal water caressing my skin, dissolving irritations of the day away, milk and honey caressing and toning up my skin.

Yeah...that's more like it.

You get the idea. This soap may ugly, but it is a beauty in all other ways. When I make my next batch, I will work on the coloring of it and it will be a "Swan" in all ways.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

I'm a hummer. At home, work, no matter what I'm doing, I hum or sing a tune without realizing it half the time.

Up until recently, I never gave this habit much thought. It has always been a part of who I am and I considered it a normal occurence in everyone's life.

Last week however, a co-worker was speaking to me about how depression ran in her family. Her son was recently diagnosed with depression and was put on some medication to treat it. After several trials and errors, the right medication and right dose was discovered for him. He told his mom one day that he had a rather odd side effect. He often woke up in the morning with a song running through his head and several songs would just arbitrarily "pop up" throughout the day. He found this to be a unique and delightful addition in his life.

Then she stopped and said, "You always seem to be humming. Do you hear music too?"

"All the time," I said. "Ever since I was a kid. I don't recall NOT hearing music."

She smiled. "Really? You don't take antidepressants...it is just something normal for you?"

"I guess so. Up until now, I just assumed that everyone heard music."

She shook her head. "No, I think it is a sign of a healthy and happy mind. You don't ever get depressed?"

"Yeah, I get a little down once in awhile, just like everyone. In fact, I went through a lot of depression years ago. I sometimes had to force the music then, or hear it on tape rather than in my head. It was the only way I could get myself out of the funk I was in." I thought hard for a moment. "You know, if I didn't have that ability, I think my life would be pretty miserable. It is no wonder that your son is so delighted by it."

She and I left the conversation at that for the time because we had to get back to work. Then, again today, I was just getting off work and she said something that reminded me of a song (practically everything does, you know) and I started singing a little chorus to an old sixties motown song without realizing it. She laughed and said, "There you go again. I'm amazed at all the songs in your head. I counted today how many songs you hummed that I recognized, must've been at least twenty in the last couple hours." She shook her head and smiled, "Amazing...how you do that."

I shrugged. "Habit I think. When things aren't looking their best...I always think of a song to cheer me up. I know that sounds an awful lot like 'The Sound of Music' but it really does work."

"I'm going to have to get into that habit, then," she said as we left the building together to go home.

Music in my head...something I've always had and taken for granted. I will no longer take it for granted anymore. I now realize what a precious gift it really is. Not everyone has this ability and I am so grateful for this gift.

Oh, and the picture of the sleeping chihuahua? I'm certain he hears music in his sleep. I think all dogs do. They are always so darn happy all the time.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Soap eggs...that's what I'm talking about. I loved making these little chicken sized colorful soap eggs. I had been looking for this mold ever since last spring and didn't find it until I ran into (literally) into a store display at a local pharmacy...yes, a pharmacy.

My mother had egg shaped molds when I was a kid and used them for a variety of things all the time. I don't know whatever happened to them but couldn't find them anywhere.

Once I ran into, and nearly knocked over the entire display, I was delighted to find what I ran into and got two of them. I wished I had more now.

Although I made these eggs specifically for the Spring time, I plan on making them in a variety of styles and colors throughout the year.

Decorated eggs are given as a token of true love in many cultures throughout the world so eggs are not just for Easter and Spring time. They can be for anytime of the year. I give my hubby an egg every year for that reason. We are still in love, best friends and soul mates after 16 years of marriage.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Robin feels that being able to do what you love in this life is truly a blessing. She has been beading for five years now- obsessed with creating something for most of her life. She loves to see various colors and types of beads - or any medium- worked together to form a new and beautiful creation. It reminds her of God's work in our lives - taking these lumps of clay and molding us into beautiful works of art- to His glory!

She is a Believer in God, wife to her one and only love, a mom to two incredible kids, a homeschool teacher, an optimist, a "creative sort"...

Her heart overflows with the blessings she has received - precious family, dear friends and the gift of Jesus Christ. She prays that something you find on her site will speak to your heart.

I know that something on her site spoke to mine.

The necklace you see above is one of Robins many items that she makes and I loved it so much when I saw it. At the time I was having a few troubles in my own life and wanted to have something that physically reminded me of the things that I was joyful for. So, this necklace spoke to me...and continues to do so every time I wear it. Other people notice it too. They love it and ask where I got it.

Robins designs speak for themselves.

Robin is working on some new handbags to list soon so stay tuned. She is in the process of photographing them and finds that end of her creativity much more challenging than anything else. Like me,she feels that getting a picture to speak to someone isn't as easy as making the item in the first place.

Let Robin's shop speak to you and visit her at

http://www.robinsheart.etsy.com

Robin also has a blog site. Come visit her at

http://robinsheart.blogspot.com

Sorry folks. I tried to get Robin's sites to link but for some reason, the link icon isn't working right for me today. You may just have to use that old copy and paste method instead until I can get it work right. OR...you can check out my recent purchases section and you will notice that "robinsheart" is listed there, and that DOES link directly to her shop :)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Today was a bit odd. I had plans. It was my day off from my regular job and I had plans....plans to make some really cool soaps and plans to clean up my house and plans to do laundry and plans....I had plans.

First thing that happened is that my son woke up late and needed a ride to school. OK, I can handle that. He got ready and we jumped into the car....uh-oh. I hardly have any gas in the tank! Well, no worries. I have enough to get the boy to school, then I can drive to the gas station and get some gas before I do my other errands.

Of course the gas prices are up....again! Couldn't afford to fill the tank, not at those prices. 1/2 tank of gas later, I went to the store, got some items I needed and headed home. NOW, I am ready to make soap!!! There was a new formula I wanted to try out. Everything I needed, I had already bought.

I start to gather my things together, certain that everything was there and ready...but something was missing. Where were my gloves? Can't make soap without them!!! What could've happened? They were nowhere to be found! Ohhh...for the love of....I'm going to have to go back to the store and get gloves! Now, I'm a bit upset. I grab my purse, walk out the door, locking the door as I leave and head for the car again. I go to grab my keys to start the car and they are missing! WHAT????? I run back to the door, hoping against hope that I forgot to lock it, but no. The door is nice and secure. Ohhh...for the love of............I've locked myself out of my house!!! It is only 11:30 in the morning. No one gets home until 2pm. My phone is inside the house.

I calm down...sort of, and make some attempts to break into my own house without causing permanent damage. I have never been successful at illegal things, including breaking and entering, so I am trying a variety of things that I've seen on TV that look so simple when someone else does it. I finally find a window that is a bit loose and was locked at some point, but I must've unlocked it. I crawled in through the window and proceeded to find my keys right where I laid them of course.

Grabbing the keys, I race back out to the car (after carefully locking all windows and doors again), hop in and go back to the store for gloves. Luckily, I find them on sale and buy three of them. To make things even better, I found something that I had been looking for and unable to find. Grabbing those also, I purchase and race back home again.

It is now 1pm and I haven't even begun what I intended to do. I raced around and grabbed my items to make this new formula, hoping I wouldn't mess it up. As it turned out, the soap making actually went quite well despite the fact that my kids arrived back home, hubby arrived back home before I was able to finish and they wondered why it took me so long! (Oh....for the love of...:) :) :).... SOAP!) That's why!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Jellybeanlabs has a delightful etsy shop full of kid friendly fun things...and, custom banners and avatars. She made my banner and avatar for me recently and I just love it. It is on my etsy site and also here on blogspot. She was warm, friendly, great to work with and seemed to know exactly what I was talking about when I was trying to describe what I wanted despite the fact that I wasn't really positive what I wanted myself. She did a beautiful job, don't you think?

Here is a little bit about her etsy shop. Come on down and visit her.

JellyBean Lab! Crafting rocks! BIO: She has three daughters, all under the age of 12, who have the crafting bug and are excited for their creations to find new homes. They've been selling their wares in local craft and art shows for several years and are now making them available on ETSY. All are inspired by the imagination that youth has to offer, creating fun and fanciful art for all to enjoy.Check out more of their ART & CRAFT by visiting their images on Flickr. www.flickr.com/photos/jellybeanlab/

Some items are made entirely by one of her daughters, such as the Zillow Creature Soft Sculptures, others Nicole lends an experienced hand to. All items are tagged with a Jellybean Lab card and are packaged in a professional presentation (often pictured with the description) making them 100% gift presentable. The art is even more amazing in person. You will absolutely love any creation you purchase from them and it is sure to get you compliments! They started selling goods because they were often stopped on the streets in Philly and NYC by people asking them where they got their necklace or hat or pin. Some people even tried to buy the hat right off her daughter's head!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Welcome to This Is It! Creations! thisisit.etsy.com They are a husband and wife team who dreamed of creating together while working from home. In 2005 we made that dream come true! The result is This Is It! Creations is based out of their home in northern California, making eclectic, handmade gifts, including photo albums, journals, greeting cards, and jewelry. Their paper products are all made using ecofriendly paper! They are huge animal lovers and vegan, and donate 5% of their profits to animal-welfare groups. They are also a part of Etsy for Animals! (http://etsyforanimals.com or http://etsyforanimals.blogspot.com). The charities that they currently support are: Best Friends Animal Society (www.bestfriends.org), Humane Farming Association (http://www.hfa.org/about/index.html), The Jane Goodall Institute (http://www.janegoodall.org), and The Anti-Vivisection Society (http://www.navs.org).

For a refreshing shop with some great product ideas, take the opportunity to visit them.

I've recently received some cards and some earrings from thisisit's shop and they were all beautifully handmade and well constructed.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Whatshername on etsy as posted this adorable little sachet as part of a fund to help someone in need. She has included lavender that came from my etsy shop, so that makes me a part of this also.Please visit and take the opportunity to help someone in need at http://www.whatshername.etsy.comHere is a description of this adorable little sachet:

This victorian lace lavender sachet is 2 1/2"x4". It is pink with pink/blue lace tied with white ribbon and pink and blue beads. Great to give (or receive).$shipping price included for U.S. (my design)All $ will go towards our fellow etsy seller's (Luxury) niece-Chloe. She has serious medical problems and her family needs help. For more of the story and details, please go to Luxury's shop announcement.I've added some more lavender buds into the sachet from Jabon's shop here on etsy.God Bless

When it comes to photography I am a certifiable amateur. I've always loved to take pictures, but only for my own enjoyment. It never ocurred to me that I would ever need it for anything other than that.

Then, I started making soaps, which has nothing to do with photography.

Then, I decided that this soap thing was good and I wanted to sell them, so I sold them locally.

Then, I thought it would be a good idea to sell them online. Suddenly, photography became VERY important, but I didn't realize just how important until I started to take pictures with my new digital camera. I'd never used a digital camera before, but I figured that wasn't a problem. A picture is a picture, right?

I was sooo wrong!

The pictures above are examples of really lousy photographs I've taken of some of my soaps and gift baskets when I first started using my digital camera. I thought the pictures were okay.....not great, but OK.

Then, I found etsy.com and thought it was a great place to put my soaps online. I opened my shop, took my pictures, wrote some descriptions and set some prices. Cool! I was ready for buyers to come flocking to my store site and start buying.

It didn't happen.

Scratching my head, I took another look at my shop, then another and another. I started comparing my shop with others on etsy and began to recognize that my photos were sadly lacking compared to most. So, I started trying to take more pictures. Slowly, I got a bit better at it, but still they didin't look near as good as many on etsy. What are these other guys doing that I'm not doing. I started to take a look at the forums after being on etsy for about 6 months and found them to be extremely helpful in learning what others are doing to improve their shops. I also started looking at some other things that etsy has posted and found that they had so much more than just a place where you can open your shop. There were tutorials on how to make your shop even better.

So, I'm not the brightest star in the sky. Despite the fact that I had been on etsy since July of 07, it took me until December of 07 to discover what etsy is all about.

Since December, I've slowly been improving the looks of my shop. I've recently ordered a new banner and avatar from an etsy seller. It is still in the making, but I'm excited about it. I've slowly improved my photos but they still have a long way to go. It all takes time, but the best part about the whole process is that I'm learning about them rather than stubbornly sticking to my guns, hoping that customers will just come flocking to my store and buying all my stuff whether I take pretty pictures or not.

I'm learning how to be a marketer, a photographer, advertiser....when all I wanted to be was a soaper and crafter. I'm finding that if I want to sell my craft, I need to learn so much more.

I had deleted most of my terrible photographs before I did this blog, so the ones above are actually ones I dug out of the corners of my computer that escaped death along with the rest.

I'm hoping to show you some of my improvements in my photography soon. My etsy site still is in need of better photographs, I know that. Please visit my shop site and give me some input on my so so photograpy. Trust me, the current photos are a vast improvement from what I had on there last summer.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Loopsdesigns has created things for as long as...well, a long time! Loopdesigns grew up all over the World with some fondest memories and inspiration from childhood in Rwanda, Africa and has been making jewelry for others since getting married in 1998 when she made necklaces and earrings for her bridesmaids.

She started selling jewelry in 2002 when patients she worked with (she is a Physical Therapist) started asking about the jewelry she was wearing/making.

ABOUT HER JEWELRY:She handcrafts all the jewelry in her shop and endeavors that all her jewelry have have individual distinctions as many materials are formed by nature.She makes her wire components freehand so they do vary slightly from earring to earring.

-------OTHER INTERESTING TIDBITS-------"Crocs for Orphan Tots" is a program Loopdesigns has started to collect used croc like shoes for orphans in the the Congo. Convo her or check out her Blog http://crocsfororphantots.com/ for more info.

-}}} PUBLICATIONS {{{-In the new "Step by Step Wire Jewelry" magazine (on sale now) you can learn how to make her VINEYARD EARRINGS.

-}}} BABY'S ARRIVAL {{{-She is a new mom too! DeLuca Noelle was born Sept 1st, 2007. A healthy little girl at 8lbs, 1oz. with a full head of dark hair. Due to this life transition, purchases will ship in 7-10 days from date payment is received.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

I was very happy with my old business name, Jabon Soaps, for quite awhile now. It seemed to fit well for me. I had looked across the internet prior to choosing that name to see if it was being used by anyone else and had not found anything in the search engine. So, I felt secure with the name.I looked again the other day and lo and behold, there were SEVERAL people who where using that, or a similar name...so similar that it was hard to differentiate. It also appeared that these had picked this name prior to me.

As a result, I have decided to change my name so that my products are not confused with with someone else's.The new name I've chosen is one that I have already been using regularly on myspace, on Ruebee and on my blogspot. People already know me by this name and I originally used it as sort of a nickname....Soapy Blessings. My shop site will now be known as Soapy Blessings by Trish, which is already the case on my blog site anyway.

The shop on etsy is still the same, just the name is different.Since the original name I picked on etsy was "jabon", I think it will still come up as "jabon" on the forums and convos. I don't think that can be changed. That's OK. "Jabon" means "soap" in Spanish and still applies anyway.So, come visit my same shop but with a different name.By the way, I am having a sale through March 2nd, so even better!!!